“Thomas said to him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ Then Jesus told him, ‘Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.'” John 20:28-29

After all his pretentious bluster about needing proof,
it seems Thomas didn’t need to put his finger in the nail holes
or his hand in Jesus’ side after all.

Jesus Himself was enough.

Instead of poking around in Jesus’ scars,
Thomas dropped to his knees in worship.

He didn’t miss out on any more visits after that.
Thomas was there at the ascension
and at the Holy Spirit’s coming at Pentecost.

Tradition tells us that Thomas went on to be a missionary in India
where he established a church,
but was executed for his faith.
It is said he was stabbed in the side with a spear.

He never lived down his “doubting” label, which is unfortunate
since all the other disciples also doubted the women’s reports of having seen the risen Jesus.
There’s no doubt that Thomas was a strong believer
and God used him in mighty ways.

We have something those first disciples didn’t have.
A special blessing is given to those of us
who believe Jesus rose from the grave,
even though we’ve never laid eyes on Him.

For Thomas, seeing was believing.
For us, believing is seeing.

Open the eyes of our heart, Lord.